Crate Paper

Make it Crate :: Painted Plastic Lettering w/Ashley Cannon Newell

Have you seen the Pier's collection's Plastic Cut-Out Alphabets? They're awesome! Today, I have a tutorial to share with you on how to add color with paint. You can paint each letter the same color or use a variety of colors as I did on my card. These letters are fantastic for making titles for layouts and even focal points on cards.

First, you take your plastic alphabet and determine which side is the unfinished side. the unfinished side is not smooth and glossy and feels more like a matte finish. You want the unfinished side on top.

Next, get out your paint(s) and add at least one coat of acrylic paint to the unfinished side of the plastic alphabet. Warning, your fingers will get a bit messy during this process! But, I assure you that you will look like an artist in the end! Depending on the color of your paint (and also the thickness of your paint) you may have to add a second coat after the first coat dries. I found that a foam brush applied the paint better than a traditional paint brush; but both will work. Paint each letter and let them dry.

Tip: If you have reinkers, use Gesso or a white-based paint to come up with your own paint colors!

The colors added to these fabulous plastic alpha shapes is so much fun. They really POP. I created the word "HELLO" onto a card that measures about 4" x 6". The plastic alphas are definitely the focal point of the card.

I used foam adhesive to adhere the alphas to patterned paper and used pinking shears to make a decorative border. The neutral tones of the polka dot patterned paper are perfect for all that color in the letters. You can find the patterned paper in The Pier 6" x 6" paper pad!

To fill in the last section, I used an accordion embellishment. It's a Stand-Out from The Pier collection. I also used a cardstock die-cut for the "you" element - making the card greeting "HELLO YOU".

So, have some fun with paint and add loads of color to your projects using the plastic alphas. They will surely make any project come alive!

Make it Crate :: Window Heritage Album w/Katie Ehmann

This is Katie Ehmann on board with a beautiful, vintage heritage album. Beyond it's red bow is a window filled with flowers surrounded by exquisite pages from years long ago. Today, I'm going to show you how to create an album like this of your very own. It's truly magical and a treasure trove of memories - come take a look!

The materials needed are as follows; vintage book, ruler, pencil, craft knife, self-healing cutting mat, ribbon, sewing machine, old family photos and your favorite Crate Paper collection. I opted to use the DIY Shop collection because of it's vintage feel - matches wonderfully with my old photos from the 1930's and 1940's. 

 

The start of the album begins with a special touch - an altered title page with a window, exclusive to a Crate Paper Stand-Out Embellishment. To recreate this page, gather up a group of pages the same approximate width as the embellishment it's to hold. Position a craft mat just beneath the group of pages to protect your work surface.

 

Next, use a ruler to find the middle of the page and then with a pencil, draw a square that is slightly larger than the soon-to-be encapsulated embellishment.

 

With a craft knife, carefully cut along the pencil markings, making sure to cut through all of the pages. Remove the squares to reveal your window! 

 

Machine sew the group of pages together to reinforce your "window" and create one very thick page! 

 

Add patterned paper, letter stickers and embellishments to your title page, sewing across your chosen letter stickers. 

 

For the remainder of the album pages, cut various patterned papers sized slightly smaller than the book pages and machine sew them into position.

 

Add photos, embellishments and journaling to each page, including names and dates (mine have been covered for privacy purposes).

Depending on the number of pages you've created, you may want to remove additional "book pages" in order for your book to close properly. Wrap your album in ribbon and add a decorative CP clothes pin to the top. Now, watch as your family enjoys the album for years to come! 

 

Make it Crate :: Embellished Eggs w/Michiko Kato

 

Hi CP Fans! Even though Easter has come and gone, today, I want to share with you an egg-adorned layout fashioned from a multitude of artsy techniques I'm confident you'll want to try. Quite frankly, Easter isn't nearly as prevalent as is Halloween in Japan. Most people aren't familiar with the holiday. Of those that do celebrate the special occasion, they have the option to enjoy it outside the home at Universal Studio Japan and/or Tokyo Disneyland. I often go to USJ with my family because it's nearby and there is so much to look at that is colorful and cute! This year, we made the trip once again to USJ on Easter day. While there, I took many pictures of my daughter. Upon returning home, and reviewing the photos up close and personal, I knew right away that I wanted to create a layout from them - this is the final result, eggs and all!

In crafting the layout, I chose the above supplies from the Maggie Holmes collection. The photo size is 3" x 3".

Now, I will not discuss in great depth the construction process of the layout itself. Your welcome to mimic the layout as "shown". Mostly emphasized in today's post are the techniques used to create the eggs - the main Easter attraction!

So in delving further, I cut three different sized eggs (ten in total) from white cardstock with my Silhouette Cameo.

 

The first egg design is the "Flower Spotted" egg. Using a mini flower punch, I punched several flowers from two medium sized eggs, including along the edges. I adhered the eggs to patterned paper, pink & yellow, and then trimmed them out; Adorable as can be!

 

The second egg design is the "Dotted" egg. Using Party Day's clear spotted stamp, and blue and red ink, I positioned 'dots' on small and medium sized eggs. To give them greater personality, I stuck a Maggie Holmes bow to the top of each one (of a similar hue as the ink color). As a finishing touch, the sticker "Smile" was added to the larger of the two eggs. More cuteness!! 

 

The third egg is the "Striped" egg. After positioning a random assortment of patterned paper strips on top a medium egg (mix and match whatever you like!), I trimmed the excess off to match the shape of the egg. For a bit of extra detail, I stitched borders along some of the strips. Easy & oh so playful!

 

The fourth egg design is the "Washi Tape" egg. I placed a mismatched assortment of washi tape strips onto a small sized egg. Just as the last design, I trimmed the excess off. This is by far, the easiest technique of those shown today. Layering/overlapping washi tape can lead to seriously cool effects! Lots of combinations, too.

 

The fifth egg design is the "Watercolor" egg. To prepare the surface of the large sized egg, I painted a layer of water across it. Be careful as too much water can cause paper to easily curl. Less is more. Bit by bit, I painted the egg with yellow and blue watercolor paint. Don't be afraid to soften up the colors - it's one of the medium's main attractions. If the colors blend into each other, that's ok, too.

Because I wanted the egg to dry out quickly, I took to it, a heater gun. Worked like magic! 

I added a small set of eyes and a fancy mustache to the creation and officially titled it, "Egg Man".

 

The last egg design is called "Broken Egg". I cut the egg in-half with pinking scissors, opened it up and positioned a balloon embellishment inside of it. The balloons look as though they're jumping from the egg, don't you think?

You might see a few more decorated eggs scattered about my layout based on some of the techniques described. Go ahead and make them if seeking to replicate the layout "as is", or, wanting to perfect the techniques shown. 

Even if you're not in the market for egg decorating, you might still give these ideas a try using alternative shapes - that's what is so wonderful about a tutorial like this; you can apply it any way you like no matter the project! 

Thank you for stopping by the Crate Paper blog - I'll see you next month!

 

Make it Crate :: Fabric Frames Minibook w/Deb Duty

The Maggie Holmes fabric frames are one of my favorite parts of her entire "beautiful" collection. I decided to feature them as the base for each page in a minibook about a monarch we watched go from caterpillar to butterfly last year.

I wanted the fabric frames to look like they were the actual pages of the book, so I used a magazine cut down slightly smaller than the size of the frames. That way, my pages were already bound for me, but you can't tell it's a magazine once it was finished!

Here's what you'll need: 

1. an old magazine

2. heavy-duty scissors

3. adhesive

4. Maggie Holmes Fabric Frames

5. square photos

6. patterned paper

7. washi tape

8. paper piercer

9. twine

 

1. Use a heavy-duty scissors to cut out the top corner of the magazine at just under the size of the frames. My magazine was 80 pages long and a bit difficult to cut. The pages came out a little jagged and messy, but that's ok - they don't show! Divide the magazine pages evenly into six sections and staple the pages in each section together at the bottom.

2. Adhere a frame and photo to each page, positioning the frame all the way to the center. I used tombow mono multi liquid glue because it allowed me to reposition the frame before it dried if I needed to. I adhered the inner edge first, added the photo underneath the frame and then adhered the rest. 

3. Cut a piece of patterned paper to fit the last page of the album and adhere it inside the last section of magazine pages. I added a label and some journaling to this page. 

4. Cut two pieces of patterned paper at about 4.25" x 5" and adhere to front and back of minibook even with the outside edges. Cover the spine with washi tape so that no part of the magazine shows. After this step, you'll have a nice little minibook. You could embellish the cover, add a title and be done!

5. I decided to add one more thing - a separate cover. The patterned paper is 10.125" wide by 5.125" tall and is scored 4.75" in from each side to create a spine. I decorated the front with thickers and embellishments and rounded the corners. The cover is attached to the minibook with twine. I used a paper piercer to punch a tiny hole through the binding and cover about half an inch from the ends. Then I used a needle to thread the twine through the holes and tied the twine into a bow. 

And now here's the completed minibook about the butterfly that emerged from it's chrysalis in our backyard!

This was a really quick and easy way to make a lovely little minibook. I didn't embellish much because the fabric frames are so beautiful on their own. I encourage you to try turning an old magazine into a minibook. It was a lot of fun, and I'm very happy with the little book of butterfly photos!

Make it Crate :: Express Layout & Tips w/Evelyn Pratiwi Yusuf

Hey Everyone, it's me, Evelyn, back again this month to share a "how-to" about crafting a layout in under fifteen minutes using just three techniques; misting, layering and embossing.

Truth is, all of us really want to scrap, but find ourselves struggling to find time to actually do it..beyond the hour or two mark. You have tons of ideas, photos and are dying to play with your new pattern papers, and on top of that, your technique "must-try" list is a mile long! How on earth is a scrapbooker to make it to her desk to take advantage of it all? Well, I've some tips for ya in how to create a layout in under fifteen minutes using three solo techniques, including express journaling. 

Misting is all the rage, so not surprisingly, it's the first technique I chose to work with on my layout. I started with a sheet of wood grain patterned paper {DIY Shop}. Using white mist, I randomly sprayed two areas; top & bottom. I opted for white because the embellishments already emit pops of bright color. I gave the mist three minutes to dry (a heat gun accelerates dry time) before moving on to the next technique.

 

Time to start layering on some love. Start the process by randomly selecting different size/color embellishments. Arrange the items around your photo'(s) in a way that is to your liking and feels balanced. Pop some of the embellishments with foam adhesive. Consider focusing much of the attention at the center of the layout as it's the easiest place to work around. Set a large embellishment next to the photo'(s) - it'll add volume to overall layout and bring attention to the photo'(s).

 

I bet you buy lots of embossing powders, but never use them! It's time to wipe the dust from their tops and get creative with them again. I'm not a huge fan of handwriting, nor journaling, but it's time for me to step outside my comfort zone and try something new. I gathered all my clear "phrase/word" stamps (differing fonts) and two warm-colored embossing powders that match perfectly (neighbors on the color wheel), yellow & orange. I then stamped a couple of varying phrases on the backside of DIY Shop's Accent Card patterned paper. Finally, I trimmed them out and positioned the phrases throughout the layout in different locations. 

As a final touch, you can introduce thickers, ribbon or more splatters of mist to areas that feel empty. You might also consider lending a glittery effect to your journaling banners to make them shine!

Thank-you for joining me today - I hope to have offered you "useful" tips so that next time you've a free moment, finishing a layout is a no-brainer! Have fun, ladies!

 

Make It Crate :: Everyday Mini Album w/Magda Mizera

Hello, it's Magda here with a bright and modern mini album tutorial. I've been looking forward to sharing it with you because almost anyone can create one just like it. It's about "my" everyday life. There are so many moments in our lives that are worth remembering. This album is about celebrating every single day and the pieces that follow. Think about what you love to do - truly, what makes you happy?

Here's a look at what I used to create my mini album...

Lets get started, shall we? You'll need three sheets of Crate patterned paper, 15cm x 30cm each. Fold them as shown in the image below.

Adhere the flaps down on all sides except at the very top. You'll be inserting tags into the top openings by leaving the top edges "as-is". To see the tags "in action", scan down and study the album photos at the end of this post. It'll give you a better idea of which sides to adhere in putting the album pages together.

 

It's now time to bind the album pages together so as to create an overall base for positioning photos and embellishments. Stack the pages together and punch a tiny hole near the top and bottom edge - inside the fold. Review arrows below.

Also, using the binding technique described in the images, bind the pages together. The process isn't too difficult. Attach one folded page at a time using embroidery floss or strong thread. An embroidery needle is of immense help if you have one to get the thread through the holes.

 

Trim a small section of patterned paper to cover the binded area. Wrap the paper around the exposed spine to keep the thread protected and secure. Adhere it into position with a strong, wet adhesive.

Remember the pockets I mentioned earlier on? Either pre-make tags to fit inside them, or use Crate's super cute accent tags instead! Top them off with a page tab for easy grabbing.

Here is the end result!! I decorated it with only a few embellishments because I prefer the clean and simple look. Just a few threads, die-cuts and other random elements were added to the pages. This album isn't collection specific, so use whatever Crate Paper products you have on hand. Secure the album with embroidery floss and you're finished!

I'd love to know what you think of the album!! Cute and petite come to mind when I scan through it's pages - lovely indeed! Have a great day and thanks for hanging out with us!

Make it with Crate :: Page Tabs w/Marie Lottermoser

 I love the look of having a large variety of tabs along the edge of a mini album. Not only are they great page separators, they're a quick entrance mark for finding a specific page or memorable event! Today, I'm going to show you how to go about making lots of different types of page tabs using everything from photos to bows.

First, gather a small collection of clips, page tabs, brads, stickers, washi tape and so forth. For my album, I crafted tabs using an assortment of items from the Maggie Holmes collection; stickers, bows, flower clips and washi tape paper. 

For the base of the tabs (extra support), trim small pieces of cardboard. Any type of cardboard may be used, including product packaging. If you're concerned about acidity, then your best bet is to research a resource that sells acid-free/archival quality cardboard. 

Paint the cardboard coordinating colors that match your album. My rectangular tabs are approximately 2" wide by 1.5" long, which I then folded in-half.

Then, the fun begins! It's time to decorate the cardboard pieces. Start with stickers and position them right on top the painted cardboard tabs. 

To change things up some, switch to fabric bows, or tiny photos. Consider the theme of the album when dressing up your tabs, as well as the content. Try incorporating elements that support both, and relay to some of the designs already created within the album. This promotes unity and will help to bring the album together as a whole.

You can then simply add the tabs to their corresponding pages. For cardboard tabs, I prefer stapling them directly to the pages. Not only are staples super convenient, they're a snap to add! They're also super sturdy and ensure secure placement of the tabs. Of course, there's always the option of wet adhesive - whatever you're most comfortable using on your pages.

Since I stapled the tabs directly the pages, I placed a small sticker over the staples to hide them.

After positioning the cardboard tabs, I finished the album with even more tabs! Some are directly from the Maggie Holmes cardstock sticker sheet, some are pieces of washi tape folded over and some are made with flower clips which just slide onto the page.

After orienting all the tabs, take a moment to flip through the pages of your mini album. Note how fun the tabs are to use, and how they feel beneath your fingers - they give the album a unique "edge".

I encourage you to try your own variations when tab making. Position them in different spots; bottom, top, right, etc. Mix & match different materials and mediums. Also, consider punches and other helpful tools to create one-of-kind shaped tabs. There is no limit to what you can do!! Have fan with it!

 

Butterflies Galore w/Sophie Crespy

 

There I just some things that I love so much, I can't get enough of them! The reason I mention this is because I once found this image at Pinterest catering to butterflies galore. It'd been a project of fluttering butterflies popping off the page as if they were going to fly away. Inspired by the image, I searched and searched for a way to re-create the same look on a layout of my very own. After a while, I finally figured out the perfect technique and today, I'm going to share it with you using Crate Paper's "Party Day" collection and a few randoms. 

For this tutorial, it'd be of immense help if you happened to own a Cameo, but if you don't, no worries! If without one, you'll need a sampling of butterfly shapes, a good sharp x-acto knife and yes, a lot of patience. :)

Here's the process "in action":

I always start with a favorite photo, and a quick, very basic "sketch". 

 

I then print the photo and select a range a patterned papers and embellishments that I think coordinate well with it's color range and "feel". In choosing these items, I know that more than likely, I won't use all of them. It's simply nice to have "options" available while scrapbooking because you never know when right "match" might present itself. For this layout, my selection includes papers from the Fourteen collection and embellishments from Party Day and Maggie Holmes.

*Also important to note; I chose white cardstock as the backdrop for the layout.

 

I've a Cameo available to me in my studio, so with this next step, I pulled up this butterfly file from my Cameo library.

 

I "ungrouped" the butterflies and rearranged them accordingly to fit on my page. 

 

I switched the line to "dotted" and cut the design on white cardstock paper. Now this part requires some patience, so turn on your favorite tunes and enjoy the process...

 

With a sharp knife, trim the butterfly wings following the dotted lines, but not the actual butterfly "body". This allows you to pull the wings forward while still leaving the center portion of the butterfly intact and attached to the background. 

 

This is the result - the appearance of butterflies adrift as though leaving the page...

 

To give further life to the newly created butterflies, I placed the white cardstock on different colored backgrounds before choosing just one. It's personal preference at this point, so pick what works best for your project. I opted for grey/red dotted paper as it echoed the colors of my photo.

 

This is when the fun really begins: I prefer the "clustered" look with lots of butterflies, stickers and rosettes. The key in working this kind of style is making sure to use "just enough" so as to not overwhelm everything else, especially the photo. I picked up my favorite butterfly punches and punched away! I chose patterned papers from Fourteen and a rosette from Party Day's Stand Outs Layered Stickers.

 

I positioned the butterflies and rosette on the page while managing the cluster as a whole to create a balanced design. I added random word stickers (Party Day) and other shapes to the page. They're super cute!

 

Upon deciding the final position of the page's elements, I glue them down. Rarely am I ever fully satisfied with the location of things, but you DO have to glue things down at some point, right?! 

The finishing touches, a title and small banner sticker, are the last items added to the page.

 

With the layout almost done, I machine stitched some of the butterflies. I also stitched along the border of the white cardstock to create a framed design. 

 

I went ahead and added some pink ink/paint to the cut-out butterflies with the help of a brush; lends texture and interest. This shade of pink is one I made myself from pink and white ink. I combined the two together in a small bottle. 

I always end a layout with journaling and a date.

 

Once again, here's a look at the layout. It's appearance is soft, which works beautifully with the newborn photo. 

There are numerous ways to take advantage of this technique; frames, borders, circles, etc. Be creative & enjoy! 

 

Playing with Fabric Tutorial w/Stephanie Dagan

 

Hello Everyone, Stephanie Dagan to share with a little tutorial on making a super cute mini album! What's ultimately unique about it is that the cover is constructed from fabric. Personally, I love to use fabric on my projects! I find it to be warm and easy to work with. 

 

To create a fabric cover of this type, you'll need a piece of cardstock. Choose whatever color cardstock you like since we'll be covering it with fabric. The paper measures at 9" x 5.5". Trim a piece of fabric slightly larger than the cut paper. 

 

Lay the cardstock on top the fabric and fold the edges of the fabric over it as I've done above. You've a couple of options to hold the fabric in position. First, a double stick tape roller laid across all four edges. Some should overlap onto the paper. The second option is to use spray adhesive directly on the fabric - it's a bit tacky, but holds extremely well! Just make sure to spray it on lightly and with enough protective covering behind it so as to not get adhesive on your table.

 

Bring the cover to a nearby sewing machine and stitch a border around it. This further secures the fabric to the paper. Note that the stitching is just barely shy of the album's perimeter - less than a 1/4" inch. 

 

Now for the interior pages. I chose three different patterned papers and vellum paper, which exhibits a title and journaling block. The pieces of patterned paper are slightly smaller than the cardstock/fabric cover.

 

I doubled the papers and positioned them "inside" the cover before sewing them together down the center. Consider the arrangement order of your mini album pages before completing this step. After the addition of the sewn binding, the pages are "as is". 

 

On the back interior cover, I glued a piece of woodgrain patterned paper to hide the folded over fabric. I also positioned eyelets for ribbon to secure the album closed.

 

Once the structure of the album is complete, I filled the album with photos and embellishments. Essentially, I used the DIY Shop collection, which I LOVE. 

In designing the album, I opted to limit the number of pages so as to get straight to the point and to share only those photos that evoked specific memories. The hardest part was choosing the right photos! 

I hope to have inspired you today - if ever a moment you create a similar album, please feel free to share it with us! 

~

As promised, we've a formal congratulations to pass along to a member of the Gossamer Blue Kit Club whom participated in this month's GB/Crate Paper Challenge! Congratulations to Katrina Hunt and her cute pup! 

Katrina, the layout's vibrant color palette and unique composition captured our attention right away! We "truly" love it ~ send your info to cpblog@cratepaper.com.

A very special thank-you to all whom participated in the challenge. We greatly enjoyed seeing your creations and appreciate them so, so much!!  To check out the runner-ups, visit the Gossamer Blue blog! 

Layered Hearts Tutorial W/Michiko Kato + Weekly Fourteen!

 

 

Hello CP Fans! I'd like to share with all of you a heart-felt tutorial outlining instructions for creating 3-D Hearts. Valentine's Day is soon to arrive, so creating "hearts" was the first idea that came to mind in deciding what to add to my layout using the dear, sweet Fourteen collection. If you look closely, you'll notice several 3-D Hearts scattered throughout, each individually stitched and creased forward. They're quick and easy to make - let me show you how!

 

To get started, pull out a sheet of Fourteen's "Be Mine" patterned paper and set it on top your desk. Place a cutting mat under the paper. From the paper, trim from it the design shown on my layout (sitting just beneath the photo). Use whatever tool your most comfortable with, either a scissors or x-acto knife. 

Time to prepare the hearts. There are to sizes; large and small. Trim four large sized hearts "as printed" from the remaining "Be Mine" patterned paper. Using a small heart punch, trim four small sized hearts from the paper. Partner large w/small equaling a total of "four" hearts.

 

Gather your hearts and bring them to a sewing machine. With the smallest heart on top, sew directly down the middle, leaving behind a trail of thread. After completely sewn, fold the heart-duo along the seam. Leave behind excess thread, unless you prefer a cleaner look, then trim entirely. I think the excess thread is playful and cute.

 

Finally, adhere the heart on top one of the existing hearts located on your layout. Gently fold it up once again, but do so gently. Attach remaining hearts in the same manner.

 

As you can see, this technique is very simple. The best part, you can display them however you'd like and on many project types. Share the special project with family, or friends. 

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day - see you next month!

~

Yesterday, we mistakenly forgot to mention the giveaway of a second Fourteen Prize Package, so today, we're making available two Fourteen Prize packs..wait, lets make that "three" prize packs! Rumor has it we've an extra special "Grand Prize" for you tomorrow, Valentine's Day!! So, tell us about your Valentine plans whether it's dinner and a movie, or a Valentine's exchange with the kiddo's. Include your name, last initial and location (State). Also make sure you've a valid email address. We'll randomly select three winners this Friday, February 15th!